I Am a General
by VividSea
Summary: Before Klaud Nine, Cross Marian, and Winters Socalo became generals, they were just a disgraced beast tamer, a scientist who dabbles in the dark arts, and a death row prisoner. This is the story about their first years after joining the Black Order. Set seventeen years before the main canon timeline.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Klaud Nine**

A woman looked up blankly at the cloth ceiling that hanged precariously above her bed. It had been like this for quite a few days and her fellow performers were starting to get worried over the young beast tamer.

The doctor had said that it would heal eventually, but with the dirty conditions of the circus, it had a high chance of becoming permanent. The injury would become a scar, an eternal reminder that she was lacking in skill.

It had been any normal performance. The ringleader had introduced her to the crowd as the elusive beast tamer who was friends to humans and animals alike. She was called Klaud Nine, the Beast Whisperer.

But that had obviously been proven wrong when a lion pounced on her unexpectedly. The lion was a strange thing who acted like a dog. He licked things, ate bones, and waged his tail. He had never bitten anyone before and the woman considered him a good friend.

She forgot that friends could be backstabbers too.

And so the woman spent the rest of her recovery worrying over the fact that she might lose her job. Beast taming was the only thing she had and if she wanted to be hired by another circus, they had the chance of hearing of her past failures and decide that they didn't need her.

Her only comfort was a monkey, named Lau Jimin. He was a small thing, not capable of harm. She took him in as her companion the moment she set out into the world on her own. Coming from an orphanage, she had no idea who her parents were. She could have had siblings, but whether they were alive or dead was unknown. Her name wasn't even her true name.

 _Klaud Nine._

It was a clever play on the words, Cloud Nine. Her caretaker at the orphanage often caught her daydreaming during their lessons that the nuns from the nearby church would give them. Klaud remembered how her caretaker had said, "You're always on Cloud Nine."

When she asked a nun what the lady meant, she was given a kind smile and a light laugh. "Being on Cloud Nine means that one is always day dreaming. It's like they're not even in the classroom, but somewhere else instead."

It would only be later when a government official had visited the orphanage and asked her what her name was. She didn't want to be any old Beatrice or Elizabeth. She wanted to have such a strange name that when someone heard it, they would never forget it.

 _"My name is Cloud Nine."_

The woman gave her a nod as if there was nothing strange about the name. _"And how do you spell it?"_

 _"K-L-A-U-D."_

Klaud, at the time, didn't know how to spell and had unknowingly messed up the spelling. When she finally found out about her mistake, Klaud shrugged it off and embraced it. It was different and she had rather grown attached to it anyways.

After she became too old for the orphanage to take care of her, she set off and met Lau Jimin. He was the reason why she wanted to become a beast tamer.

Klaud shifted slightly and felt her stomach growl, a reminder that she hadn't eaten in a few days due to worry clouding her thoughts. Her ears picked up someone walking into her tent. Klaud turned slightly to face the wall.

"I'm not hungry, thank you anyways."

She had expected the person to express how they were worried for her or how she should eat soon else she faint from starvation. Instead, she got a strange question.

"Where is the Innocence, girl?"

It was such a scratchy voice that Klaud abruptly sat up and turned to see a hunched young man with a disheveled face and growing, unmaintained beard.

"Pardon?"

"The Innocence! Don't play dumb with me! The Earl want's results and results I shall give!"

Lau Jimin gave a squeak and scampered up her shoulder. The man's eyes narrowed at the sight of the monkey and he gave an unsettling grin. "Ah. So it was there all along."

He reached out to grab it but Klaud quickly scooped up Lau Jimin and ran out of the tent. That man gave her a strange, unsettling vibe.

He stumbled through his steps to get to her and Lau Jimin snarled and barred his fangs. Klaud had that feeling that something was off. That the man in front of her was not human.

 _But that couldn't be, because he looked distinctively like one._

Klaud was entranced by the man's careless way of walking and the way his head would tilt back as if he didn't care about her presence about her.

 _Though she knew that it wasn't true._

Her knees rattled and her hands shook. What was this feeling? Was it dread, fear, or something else?

It was a sense of foreboding.

Why? Because at that time of her realization, the man turned into a monster. Floating in the air with a white human mask with a black star and cannons attached to it, it looked like the shape of a giant eyeball. It sickened her just by looking at it.

The canons glowed purple and she shut her eyes, knowing that it would be too late to dodge it or find a safe place to hide. The man… no, that _monster,_ wanted Lau Jimin and Klaud would die than give him to it.

It fired and the loud sound of canon fire echoed through the air.

But Klaud was still alive.

She tried to open her eyes but the dust that rose into the air due to the impact of the bullet got caught and it was a few moments later until she could fully see. The sight that confronted her was like a dream, or a nightmare.

There was Lau Jimin, no longer the small and cute monkey that he used to be. Instead, he was easily larger than the ticket booth of the circus and was definitely taller than Klaud herself. He slashed out at the monster and caused it to explode right in front of her.

Definitely a nightmare.

Klaud still had the bandages wrapped around her head and perhaps the bandages covering part of her eyesight made her mistake objects of imagination as real life events. Yes, that must be the case.

"I'm quite lucky to have found an accommodator. I really only came to get rid of Akuma but I'm glad that I found you."

Klaud whirled around to face a woman with beautiful blond hair pulled up into a ponytail along with a band of cloth wrapped around the end of it. A few short strands of hair framed her face and she wore a black long dress with silver trimmings along with a waist-length jacket with a high collar.

She smiled. "Hello. My name is Katrina. What is yours?"

* * *

The woman offered Klaud to buy her lunch. She accepted, as she hadn't eaten in days. Katrina simply smiled across the table as Klaud wolfed down anything within her reach. She knew that she was hungry but she didn't know that she was _that_ hungry.

Katrina smiled towards her. "Do you like the food?"

Klaud could only nod. Of course she would like the food. It was much better than the simple bread, soup, and cheese that everyone would get for every meal.

Katrina eyed Lau Jimin and Klaud sharply glared at the woman paying for her meal. While she was grateful, Lau Jimin, who had returned to his small form, was still a close friend and confidant of hers.

The woman who was always smiling laughed. "I don't mean any harm. It's just that it's rare to see Innocence that's parasitic and not a part of the accommodator's body."

Klaud sat up straighter. "You said that word again. What does an accommodator mean? Do you know what that monster was from before?"

"Questions like that could get you killed, but yes. I know what that 'monster' was from before. That was an Akuma. An accommodator is someone who has a bond with Innocence, the only thing that can destroy Akuma. There are two types of Innocence, Equipment and Parasitic. Equipment types are basically weapons while Parasitic types are a part of you. Parasitic are extremely rare."

Klaud patted the head of Lau Jimin absentmindedly. "What about the Akuma?"

"That might be a bit harder." remarked Katrina. "Let me tell you a story of a husband and wife who loved each other very much. One day, the husband passed away and the wife, in her grief, attracted the Millennium Earl. He's the bad guy in the story."

Klaud felt like a child by the way Katrina worded things but continued listening nonetheless. She was curious after all.

"The Millennium Earl offered the wife a way to bring her husband back from the dead. All she had to do was call out his name with all of her heart. She did just that and inadvertently trapped her husband in a skeletal machine that was controlled by the Earl. Now this is where it gets a bit bloody so don't throw up on me. The Earl ordered the husband, now under another's will, to kill his wife and wear her skin as his own."

Klaud, who had eaten quite a lot, felt like throwing up. What kind of maniac would order a husband to wear his wife's skin?

Katrina nodded, the smile no longer present. "That's when things get tricky. The husband is now known as an Akuma and his… no its sole purpose is to kill people and power up. Its life is simple, kill, level up, repeat. This cycle of bloodshed will only create more Akuma from the first Akuma's victims.

"That's why the Black Order was created. The Order's goal is to find Innocence and Accomadators, destroy Akuma, and defeat the Earl once and for all during the final confrontation.

"Now to address the elephant in the room. Will you join the Black Order and fight on our side as an Exorcist?"

"But I never told you my name."

Katrina waved her hand through the air dismissively. "The Order doesn't care about our names. They only care about what we can contribute to the war."

Klaud may have been illiterate for more of her life but she could catch onto things rather quickly. "You said 'we'. Does that mean that you are an exorcist too?"

Katrina gave a short bow as she stood up. "Equipment Exorcist, Katrina Lentz of the Black Order, at your service."

* * *

Perhaps Klaud agreed to become a soldier for a secret war because she knew that she would probably lose her job as a beast tamer. Perhaps it was because deep down, she knew that underneath all those smiles, Katrina was just a soldier whose only job was to find Innocence, kill monsters called Akuma, and get accommodators. Now that Katrina found Klaud, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that Katrina would do everything in her power to bring her back to her superiors.

But fear held her back if not for a moment. It was the fear of the possibility of dying. Klaud wouldn't let herself get dissuaded with the thoughts of saving the world. A war was still a war and a soldier was still a soldier. Blood would spill if it hasn't already been spilt and Klaud might not always be the hero in everyone's eyes.

Even though these thoughts plagued Klaud's mind, she turned her will into iron and followed Katrina to the main road after she packed all her stuff and officially left the circus, her former home. Katrine had informed her that because Akuma often went after accomudators with no training as they were easier to kill, they would team up with another exorcist who was around the area before traveling back to the Black Order headquarters located somewhere in England.

Katrina told her that the exorcist that they were meeting up with was somewhere in Nevada. His name was Ives Dastilon, a man with light colored hair that overshadowed his eyes.

* * *

Katrina and Klaud waited at a train station. The man named Ives would arrive along with the 8:00 train. Klaud wasn't blind at how Katrina put a bit more effort into her appearance than usual and she was constantly fidgeting with a silver pen that she twirled around her fingers.

Either Katrina liked this 'Ives' person, or she just liked to dress well on Tuesdays.

Klaud tried to start a conversation between the two to get Katrina's mind off things but after numerous failed questions that received simple, short answers, she stopped trying.

Eventually, the train arrived and Katrina anxiously searched the crowd for Ives. A man light colored hair called out to them and waved his hand to catch Katrina's attention.

"Rina, long time no see!"

Katrina broke into a smile. "Ives!"

As he approached them, Klaud noticed how he wore black clothing with silver trimmings, similar to Katrina though he had a jacket and a pair of pants. They were most likely the uniform for the Black Order but if Klaud was forced into wearing a dress, she would jump ship immediately.

It was rather ironic when Klaud found out that they really were taking a ship to reach London.

* * *

 **So this story will alternate through people, at least that's what I'm hoping to do. Canon characters might be a bit OOC but that's before certain events happen that will make them how they are in the Canon Timeline. Of course, expect a few OCs because there were different exorcists and scientists seventeen years back. This is also a tragedy and, well let's just say, there's a reason why you don't see any of the new characters from this story in the canon story for a reason.**

 **Also, I'm still alive after several months of disappearance from FanFiction! Yay...**

 **So about my other stories...there will be author notes! *gasp***


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Cross Marian

The people who all worked with Cross Marian in the past all had the same idea about him. Whether they were male or female or head of the research team or not, they all pushed aside their grievances and agreed on one thing and one thing alone.

That he was downright crazy.

While Cross Marian was a womanizer at heart and an addicted gambler, that wasn't the strangest part about him.

It was how it was rumored that he practiced black magic and had secret meetings with the devil himself.

Wearing that phantom of the opera like mask didn't help things either. Of course, there were those people who whispered to each other that the day before Cross Marian quit his job, his house was destroyed and he left with a beautiful lady with light purple eyes.

 _Oh how true were the rumors of Cross Marian._

* * *

He walked into a gambling den with the intent of risking his recent paycheck in order to win some more money. Some said that he was addicted to gambling while others say that he probably couldn't live without it. It was the same thing really. Cross just thought that gambling was a game of chance, just like every experiment he's ever done.

It was just another test, another gamble. Everything was a gamble in the end, whether you liked it or not. At least Cross could choose most of the times when he gambled.

The moment he sat down, a waiter asked him if he wanted a beer, or perhaps wine. He said no. Cross wasn't one to drink alcohol in order to forget things. In fact, he despised the smell of it.

He could tell immediately that the person who sat next to him had recently had too much to drink. Cross barely resisted the urge to leave the table.

Instead, he turned to see a woman with dark brown curls that rested on her shoulder and a pair of light purple eyes to go with it. She wore a rather fancy black dress with silver lining the edges and a prominent rose cross appeared as a silver pendant around her neck.

She tossed him a glance, her cheeks flushed with alcohol and she carelessly gave him a smile. "Planning on getting rich tonight?"

The question was silly. That was the goal of everyone who stepped in.

Not waiting for him to reply, she tossed several chips onto the table and gave him a drunken grin. "Going all out. What about you?"

Cross wasn't one to back down from a challenge, so he did the same.

The gamble was a rather simple one. Whoever pulled out the bigger card won.

He let instinct completely take him over as he placed a gloved finger on a random card. The woman followed soon after. Pulling out their chosen cards, Cross flipped his over first.

Ace of Hearts, not bad.

The woman drowned her glass and gave him another grin. "I need the courage."

She flipped it over and revealed the card that trumps all.

Ace of Spades.

Cross simply shook his head as the woman howled with laughter as she collected her money. "Guess I'm just that lucky."

Before Cross could escape the stench of alcohol that surrounded her, the woman pulled on his sleeve. "I'll give you back your portion of the money if you tell me your name."

It was a simple request and he agreed. "It's Cross Marian."

As she handed him back his money, she held out her hand and he shook it.

"Maria Graves, at your service. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Marian."

* * *

Cross constantly saw her during his trips to the gambling den. She was always laughing loudly and throwing her head back to drink and giving her competitors a smile and telling them that it was for courage.

He didn't miss the looks other people gave her, those who fell under her charms and smiles. Cross could have been one of those men but it was the alcohol the filled the air everything she passed him that made him stay away.

 _A drunk at heart._

While they did have the occasional talk and mindless chatter, Cross could tell how the woman had several thin pockets seamed into the folds of her dress and how she won all time.

She was cheating, of course. The people who ran the gambling den knew about her but let her do as she wished since she always returned her competitor's money. She only did it for the fun of it.

That day, Maria Graves approached Cross much to his distaste, though is soon faded away when he noticed the lack of flushed cheeks and the wrenching smell of wine. Instead, he smelt the clean air that normally appeared after it rained.

Maria had a sharp gaze in her eyes as she silently sat down next to him. "Meet me by the docks, okay?"

And with that, she stood up and left.

So he left early and walked to the ports where boats swayed with the sea and the moon sat in content silence along with its mirror reflection. Maria stood not too far away and he walked towards her.

She handed him a letter and Cross took it and placed it in his pocket. It was too dark to read anyway.

"So why did you call me out here, Ms. Graves?"

Even with it being so dark, Cross could still make out her light purple eyes. "My employer wants to offer you a job as a scientist for the Black Order."

"The Black Order?" he repeated. He was confused, but he didn't let it show. "What is that, some sort of cult?"

She laughed, not one of her drunk loud laughs, but just a light one that reminded Cross of the ringing of two wine glasses as they clanked together. "No, not a cult. It's an organization that fights against Akuma, basically demons I suppose, if you want me to place it in simpler terms."

"Japanese."

Maria nodded. "Yes. I see that you know your languages. It's only fitting for a renowned scientist."

Cross stiffed. "You know?" She shouldn't have known since they barely had a real conversation until now.

"My employer found out and that's all you need to know. Everything is explained in the letter that you are holding. Give me your answer tomorrow, at the docks, at midnight. I'll see you there, Mr. Marian."

And she left, leaving Cross alone with only the moon, its twin, and the boats for company.

 _Wrong. You forgot about the Akuma that followed Cross all the way back home._

* * *

Cross sat at his desk and he grabbed a letter opener. The wax seal on the letter had the symbol of the Rose Cross; the same symbol that shown as a pendant around Maria's neck. It just had to be the symbol of the Black Order.

Pulling out the letter, he noticed that it was short and concise, which was a surprise as he expected to see several pages explaining everything to him. Whatever the Black Order was, careless was not one of them. They didn't risk telling him everything to only have him say no in the end.

The letter basically told him that everything would be provided and it was implied that he would most likely be killed if he told anyone about the Black Order or its location. It sounded dangerous to even be affiliated with them but then again, the beautiful, purple eyed Maria Graves who smelled of the clean air after rain was a member.

It wouldn't hurt to join as the pros far outweighed the cons. His current job was tolerable at best and helping humanity win a war against demons did sound interesting.

Just as he was about to write his resignation letter to his company, a loud explosion echoed down his halls and he reached for his gun that he had hidden on the underside of his desk.

A thief? No, thieves were all about sneaking in and out and not getting caught. A serial killer? Probably. (Because only those obsessed with seeing another's blood would detonate a bomb in a house with no regard to the structurally soundness of the house).

Cross silently walked into the hallway and he pointed his gun up, his finger on the trigger. What surprised him most was to see a flash of dark brown curls and light purple eyes.

He lowered his gun in confusion. "Ms. Graves?"

A look of relief flooded over her face. "Mr. Marian, it's great knowing that the Akuma didn't get you!"

So it was an Akuma.

Just then, a monstrosity of a floating demon broke the staircase and made its way through the hallway. Cross raised his gun but it was Maria who took it down. All by simply singing the luring song of a French lullaby.

It exploded and Maria lunged towards Cross and covered his nose with her hand as they tumbled backward. Only when the air cleared up was when Maria removed her hand and both of them took in deep breaths of air.

Cross gave a tired sigh and leaned against a wall. "What was that?"

Maria shook her head. "Akuma release a toxic gas when they die. If someone breathes it in too much, pentacles appear all over their body and then they… disappear and die. Only their clothes are left behind."

He wished that he hadn't asked.

Maria glanced over the sorry state that his house had been left in. "Well then, Mr. Marian, will you join the Order?"

He gave a small shrug. "Don't have a choice now that my house is ruined."

Grinning, she helped him up. "Glad to have you on our side, Mr. Marian."

"You can call me Cross if you want."

"Well Cross, you can call me Maria. I don't really like being called Ms. Graves."

Cross held out his hand to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Maria."

Her eyes seemingly twinkled as she shook his hand. "The same, Cross."

* * *

It was a few days after the Akuma destroyed half of Cross's home. Cross and Maria had taken a train to reach London, a place where it constantly rained. The tall, looming tower that resided on a cliff was home to the Black Order. The moment they walked near the entrance, bats flew at them. Cross stiffened but Maria simply waved the off.

At the moment, the Black Order didn't seem as welcoming as Maria had described it on the train. He distinctly remembered her saying how the Order was everyone's home.

Home, in Cross's mind, didn't look like a haunted tower filled with bats.

Maria caught his look and she laughed. "It's better inside."

They passed a stone statue of a face that was built into the wall between the two gates. Cross was surprised that it moved. Maria had shrugged it off and Cross could only find that the Black Order was home to some rather strange things.

The Gatekeeper, as he was called, did a test to see if he was human or an Akuma. It was a strange feeling; it was as if the Gatekeeper could see through him and know everything that Cross kept hidden in his mind.

He was so glad when it was over.

Maria then showed him to the Science Division, where two men were bickering over a machine that suddenly let out smoke. Another man was draining coffee as if it was his life line and a woman scolded him for his apparent addiction.

Cross was beginning to regret his quick decision of joining the Black Order.

Maria introduced him to the coffee addicted man whose name was Jenson Swanson, the Section Chief of the Science Division. The woman next to him was Ilana Dillon, a woman who was notorious for her various versions of a mechanical creature that could possibly help the Science Division.

Apparently, she was currently on Number 47, whatever that meant.

Maria grinned. "So Cross, what do you think of the Black Order?"

Cross only had one word on his mind at that moment. "Chaotic."

* * *

 **Hey I'm back! So if your wondering about why Cross isn't drinking a lot, then don't worry! Stuff will happen in the story or maybe Maria will just rub off on him, you decide. Yeah, I couldn't find a good last name for Maria and then I was like, wait, if the innocence is called Grave of Maria, then why can't I just call her Maria Graves? Yeah, wonderful thought process there.**

 **Anyways, lots of thanks towards Dark Hyrule, alex winchester24, Golden Timcanpy, Marslion9, and RememberTheMuse for favoriting/following, plus Pouzin-garou and the guest who reviewed! Yeah, I completely forgot about Mana and Nea's mother, Katerina Eve Campbell... whoops.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Winters Socalo

Isla wasn't one to yell but when she did, you would know that her patience was thin and Isla had _a lot_ of patience.

At least that was what she thought. In reality, it was well known that Isla had a short fuse and would probably burn any anger management books that she came upon because they simply got on her nerve.

It was one of those times when Isla was denied access into a highly secured fortress known as a prison. After several finders and one exorcist snuck into the prison disguised as prison guards to respond to the strange phenomenon appearing around the area, they found innocence in the possession of one accommodator who just so happened to be a death row inmate.

How lucky for them.

Because the Vatican was desperate to find accommodators and innocence, they truly didn't care about whether the accommodator was a mass murdering villain or a little kid barely over the age of three. That rule applied to the prisoner, who did something so bad that he was sentenced to death.

Isla Corrington was sent to 'deal with the issue' as Malcolm C. Lvellie had said to her. She brought along with her an exorcist by the name of Reid Stanbury. Isla wasn't even a finder. She was the Head of the Intelligence Section for crying out loud! Every finder was under her jurisdiction and yet Lvellie had the nerve to order her around like his own personal servant!

While he was technically her 'boss', Isla had a bone to pick at with him, as did several other members of the Order. Exorcists were forced to join the Order and leave their families because of him, finders were seen as trash and nothing else, scientists were forced to do his bidding, and everybody else simply hated his arrogant, smug little face.

At the moment, Isla was having a staring contest with the security officer guarding her target's prison cell. Reid stood behind her with a look a resigned humor since he _knew_ what was coming next.

She took in a deep breath and adjusted the white knitted shawl that was wrapped firmly around her shoulders that were not covered already by her dark green, strapped summer dress. Her white heels clanked against the tile floor as she walked closer to the guard, who visibly swallowed hard, and she lifted up a white, wrist length leather gloved hand and pulled out a letter with the seal of the Vatican.

"Read it before you reply to my next question. Go call your supervisors if you want to. I am the representative of a higher level of law than you and trust me; I will not hesitate to use the power at my disposal to see that I achieve exactly what I came here for!"

Her green eyes glared the poor guard down and Reid could only feel pity for the man who was only trying to do his job. She flicked a stray short, curly strand of golden hair out of her face and she impatiently tapped her heel against the floor as the guard shakily read the letter.

A few moments later and Isla and Reid were inside the cell. The man residing in there simply gave her a look before bursting into laughter. "You're one scary lady."

Reid stifled a laugh while Isla simply shot the man a glare. "If you decline my offer then I might just throttle you by the neck because I went through so much trouble to see you face to face."

Grinning, he nodded. "Yeah sure, I accept."

Isla was slightly taken back by his abrupt answer. "I'm surprised that you agreed without even knowing what you're agreeing to."

He shrugged. "Anything's better than this boring place. So what are you going to have me do?"

She held a neutral expression as she tilted her head slightly. "You're going to get to kill demons, doesn't that sound interesting?"

* * *

Their return to the Black Order was rather uneventful. They encountered no Akuma and Winters Socalo didn't even try to escape. Reid had commented once to Isla that it seemed that her words of "getting to kill demons" seemed to spike his interest and that was most likely why he didn't try to run away like all the other exorcists a part of the Order.

Reid was no exception. He was a music conductor when the Black Order disrupted his peaceful life that he lived with his wife and two sons. When he did arrive at the Black Order, he was caught trying to escape several times. Each time was thwarted by scientist and exorcist alike along with the occasional CROW.

After several missed holidays, family birthdays, and wedding anniversaries, he simply stopped trying. He followed every order when the same smile, no questions asked.

Like a broken toy, repeating an action over and over again.

Isla found that she disliked how Central relished the victory of an Exorcist who simply stopped trying to live. Fight after fight, lies after lies, it never stopped.

 _This is why she liked books and reports. Isla was never good at dealing with humans._

And yet here was a man who voluntarily decided to become an Exorcist. He was different than the rest of their Exorcists. Winters Socalo's face never stopped smiling, unlike Noise Marie, the young eleven year boy who carried too much on his shoulders. Socalo wasn't resistant to God's calling, a polar opposite from Reid. He didn't seem to be an alcoholic since he didn't even drink one drop of wine during their journey. Maria was known for drowning her sorrows in alcohol and gambling away money because she simply had nothing to lose. Socalo did not look like someone who would try to find someone to share their pain with as Ives and Katrina did.

Winters Socalo, the best soldier that the Black Order could ask for.

 _Perhaps not_ , thought Isla. _No sane person would willingly become a pawn of Central._

* * *

They had arrived at a looming tower. The Gatekeeper did its job and nobody questioned the new face. Rumors spread through the Order like an Akuma virus spreads through a human. Fast and deadly.

Isla could already hear the whispers. They would circle around the same words. _Criminal. Death-row. Exorcist._

But it wouldn't really matter because in the end, there would only be one word that associated with Winters Socalo.

 _Exorcist._

Former lives were forgotten, pasts were taboo, and the only thing that mattered is that one could survive until the next battle. An endless cycle of fighting. The Black Order, beneath all those friendly smiles from the Science Section and the encouragement from the staff, was basically a comfortable prison to many.

People who left on missions would drag out their time spent outside as much as possible in order to avoid the common sight of coffins and their grieving comrades. Maybe the sight of a resistant Exorcist brought back dark memories or perhaps the disheartened looks of nurses, scientists, and finders who cursed their lives as they could only do so much made others around them feel just as useless as they were.

They were fighting a war that showed no signs of stopping. What was the point, anyway?

* * *

They had stopped at Hevlaska's place. Without warning, she picked Winters Socalo up and began to detect his synchronization rate with his innocence. Socalo looked about ready to punch Hevlaska and leave, though she had him firmly wrapped up in her tendril like hands.

"14%... 30%... 53%... 61%. 61% is your highest synchronization rate with your innocence."

Reid gave a mild look of amusement and perhaps pride laid underneath it, almost undetectable. "61% isn't that bad, I guess."

Isla only shook her head. "Yours was 86%, if I remember correctly. 61% may seem okay but I don't trust it. It's too low and the risk for becoming a Fallen One is great."

He agreed. "But at least it isn't around the thirties or twenties. If it was that low, he would surely become a Fallen One."

"But Central would have forced him to fight either way, at least until his innocence reaches the synchronization rate of 10% or below. So he's safe… for now." Reid grimaced and Isla watched as Hevlaska slowly released her hold on Socalo. She wished that she would never have to see a Fallen One again, not after that incident.

* * *

Isla, Reid, and Socalo walked down the winding pathway of the tower and were met with the unsmiling gaze of an eleven year old who was activating and deactivating his anti-Akuma weapon over and over again.

Maria, the only one whose presence seemed to ease the boy, was sitting next to him. She was reading and Isla trusted that Maria wouldn't dare drink in front of a child and accidentally let the gambling side of her take over.

Noise Marie had a similar name to Maria and so the entire Black Order decided to just call him Noise. It was either that or his full name. No one dared to call Maria by her last name because Maria herself hated it.

She had once stated, _"The name 'Graves' sounds rather morbid. After all, graves mentioned during a war sounds like bad luck to me."_

Isla gestured towards the two Exorcists. "Mr. Socalo, this is Maria Graves and Noise Marie. They'll be your fellow soldiers in this war."

"So whose team will he be in?" asked Maria, who had closed her book, her finger between pages to mark her spot. Noise deactivated his innocence and nodded, showing that he wanted to know too.

Isla glanced at Socalo, who hadn't stopped smiling since she met him. It was starting to creep her out. "Socalo, you better listen to this too since this is the name of your new team. The team you're joining is newly made and its general is General Orona. Just a few weeks ago, he broke the Critical Point as he passed 100% Synchronization rate with his innocence and was formerly promoted to the rank of a general. You'll be his first student."

"Just as long as I get to fight demons then I'm okay with anything this place throws at me."

Maria nodded. "It's actually called Akuma."

He grinned. "Akuma or demons, as long as I get to fight then I'm fine. The uniforms don't seem too shabby either! It even has silver buttons to go with it."

Noise Marie looked down at his own buttons that adorned his jacket. "The buttons are silver to increase durability. They engrave our names at the back of each button in case they ever need body identifications when we die." he said softly.

Isla expected Socalo's eternal smile to finally disappear but it didn't even falter. "So they thought of everything! Man, they plan ahead."

Maria shook her head. "Are you delusional? Just thinking about how our bodies could be so messed up that even our own family couldn't recognize us is just downright scary. The thought of how the names at the backs of buttons will be the only think that can identify us from the next corpse leaves a foul taste in my mouth. Who wants to be reminded of death anyway?"

Reid was the one who spoke up. "But death has the possibility of letting us see our family again. Whether anything's worth seeing on the other side or not, it's sure better than this life."

Isla was the one who slapped him to get Reid out of the dark place that was in the back of every one's minds. "Die before me and I'll personally drag you straight back from hell or heaven, it doesn't matter to me. If I die before you, then I'll haunt you until you live to the ripe age of fifty. If you die before then, then I'll find you on the other side and kick your soul back into your body whether you like it or not."

Reid gave a small laugh as Noise Marie let a ghost of a smile appear on his face. Maria herself had a smile to match Socalo's. As long as you had friends, things wouldn't seem as dark as they did before when you were alone. That was a fact that Maria could attest to.

* * *

Cross Marian saw from the corner of his eyes how his new boss was yelling into one of the landlines. The other scientists around him tried their best to ignore their chief's conversation as it was obviously something that they shouldn't be hearing, but it was hard to do so.

Jenson Swanson wasn't one to yell, yet here he was, screaming at the top of his lungs to the person on the other end of the line. His face was red and his hands were firmly planted on the table as he stood up.

"Don't you dare bring your experiments to the European Branch, Sahlins! The Second Exorcist Program has gone on for far too long and it needs to be stopped. You're dishonoring bodies of Exorcists who gave up their lives to fight a war that they didn't even want to participate in! THIS IS MADNESS!"

The scientists around him winced at the last outburst. Cross only made a mental note to search up the term 'Second Exorcist Program', as it seemed that the Black Order was darker than it seemed.

* * *

 **As a note, I added Noise Marie because he joined the Order a long time ago and at least nine years back, but he isn't in General Tiedoll's team yet.**

 **If you guys want a different spelling for Winters Socalo's name or even Klaud Nine's name, I'm open to suggestions but I would need popular vote before I officially change it. To clear up the Katrina Lentz/Katerina Eve Campbell name confusion, I plan on having most characters call her Rina, if that helps. I really hope that I didn't mess up Socalo's characterization though, since I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Sorry for the late update…**

 **As for Katrina and Ives' names not being the same as Alma and Kanda, I'm just going to say that if they were the same names, I would always be imagining Alma and Kanda instead of Katrina and Ives and it would make my head sort of hurt from the confusion. I'm glad you liked it and I really appreciate you pointing it out!**

 **Thanks to ShyMaryButterfly, Yerin, btmdiamond, Satsuki-tan, and KandaSayori5076 for favoriting/following and Tyki's Pleasure and Guest's reviews!**


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